Vice President Leni Robredo believes that the country can no longer afford “this kind of governance” as speculations grow louder that presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio will seek the country’s highest post in the 2022 polls.
“We can't last another six years of this kind of governance. Parang lalo na nasa gitna tayo ng pandemic (Especially because we are in the middle of a pandemic). We’ve lost so much already. Para sa akin (For me), things should change,” she said in an interview on ANC’s After The Fact on Tuesday night.
This came after news that Duterte-Carpio is going around the country to consult with various political leaders in preparation for her presidential bid. Her father, President Duterte, also floated the possibility of running as vice president as he claimed that will give him immunity from cases of human rights violations.
Robredo said she could not interfere with the Davao City mayor’s decision-making process, noting that her own process alone was “hard enough.”
READ: Mayor Sara Duterte: HNP in talks with 'national' leaders for her possible pres'l bid
“I just wish that, you know, whatever decision she ultimately makes, she will always bear in mind our country’s welfare. Kanya-kanya naman iyong desisyon na hindi natin pwede pakialamanan, kanya-kanya iyong aming pinanggagalingan (We make our own decisions that we cannot interfere in hers, we come from different perspectives),” she added.
“Sabi ko nga (As I say), deciding on my own situation is hard enough. Ayoko nang pakialamanan ‘yung proseso naman ng decision-making ng iba. Pero ‘yung wish ko lang na sana laging (I don’t want to interfere anymore in others’ decision-making process). My only wish is that they think about the) best interest of the country.”
The vice president admitted that there were “many factors are put into play when you decide something” as difficult as running for the presidency like her “viability.”
Robredo also said she takes the survey results “very seriously” because “on the past elections, the survey numbers have been very close to what election results have been.”
In the latest Pulse Asia Survey, Robredo placed sixth in the preferred presidential candidates by some 2,400 survey respondents. This equates to just 6 percent as opposed to Duterte-Carpio’s 28 percent.
In the 2016 polls, Robredo started with a measly one percent in surveys but went on to win over former Senator Bongbong Marcos Jr., the scion of a dictator, former President Ferdinand Marcos.
But she argued that things were different now than in 2016 because she was an administration candidate under the ruling Liberal Party back then.
“I was an admin(istration) candidate so the infrastructure was there and because I was not running for president parang hindi ko pinoblema ‘yung resources (the resources are not my problem) because the party was there. The state of our party now—wala naman akong (we don’t have) resources to launch a decent presidential campaign. So, para sa akin (for me), before I make that decision gusto ko handa ako (I want to be ready),” Robredo said.
The lady official said she did not want to rush into making the decision because it was hard to run while others were in disarray.
“We have been working hard consulting as many groups as we can showing them the data we have. We want the decision-making process to be really consultative,” she added.